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What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

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What books would you like to see in film that would make the transition sensibly.

This sort of follows on from the Trivia Geek’s Best SF franchise article.

I was trying to think of books in the genre that faithfully made it into film and pleased the readers.

I can think of some good films, but not many where the story line wasn’t jazzed up somewhat or changed to the point where we wouldn’t have recognised it without the title.

Epic disasters such as Dune for instance. Some of my favourite stories are dated now.
Eon for instance, background was the cold war…

Second War Of the Worlds, or maybe 2001 are all I can think of. SF, Fellowship Of the Ring is a stand out, but I liked Tom Bombadil and the following two make me want to punch someone out.

So a book that could be made successfully into a box office smash, without taking away what made the book great.

CJ Cherryh’s Hellburner
Jerry Pournelle’s King David’s Space Ship
Anne McCaffrey’s Dragon’s Dawn
Niven and Pournelle’s The Mote in God’s Eye, for a CGI extravaganza.

Or a potential epic money spinner, for a tall attractive brunette.

David Weber’s On Basilisk Station.

Topic

Just thought of another , go retro

In reply to What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

AC Clarke’s A fall of Moondust, just think what you could do with casting.

It would be like the old disaster movies, where you waited for the credits, because that guy’s name was on the tip of your tongue 😀

Steven King’s GunSlinger , Dark Tower series.

In reply to Just thought of another , go retro

Western SciFi at its best!

He lost it big style

In reply to Steven King’s GunSlinger , Dark Tower series.

with Song For Susanna.

If you could see what these eyes have seen

In reply to What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

At the risk of being trite, I always love watching Blade Runner, esp. the director’s cut.

I’d love to see the Neuromancer trilogy in some way in a book, but I guess now it would look outdated.

I’d love to see Jasper fForde’s book “The Big Over Easy”. I think it fits the fantasy genre. Or something.

A lot of the ideas from Neuromancer have been

In reply to If you could see what these eyes have seen

ah borrowed now. It would make a decent film, but the hook as in VR has been seriously done.

Blade runner, I knew there must be some good crossovers, I just couldn’t think of one.
Rutger Hauer and the city scape made that film for me.

Ah, yes, Blade Runner

In reply to A lot of the ideas from Neuromancer have been

And my favorite line from a movie villain, “Wake up! Time to die.”

I recently watched the EarthSea trilogy and was disappointed; they did it well, but it wasn’t as true to the books as I would have liked. Unfortunately I think that most books have to be seriously abridged unless they are specifically written as screenplays. All that background information takes time to develop and would push most movies from too long to much too much too long.

That’s the key. Action type books go over well

In reply to Ah, yes, Blade Runner

A lot of internal dialogue though, an you aren’t going to get a decent movie. The ones they do, such as Dune get the Hollywoood treatment.
Dune the film, visually was brilliant, what they did to the story….
That’s why I made the choices I did, there’s enough stuff in them for visualisation without corrupting the story.

a book series that could work..

In reply to A lot of the ideas from Neuromancer have been

that uses a fair amount of the Neuromancer stuff is the Shadowrun series.
not only Science fiction, but also Fantasy rolled into it.

teams of hackers, soldiers, mages fighting the “good fight” against the “Multinational” Corporations running the world, since the governments are dead.

cyborgs, ogres, dragons, elves, plug into brain internet connections… they have it all.

Sean Young……

In reply to A lot of the ideas from Neuromancer have been

mmmm Sean Young in that retro 50’s hairdo, nice. The cityscape was amazing, remember the Somewhere in Time album cover from Iron Maiden. (definitely dating myself with that one) Anyway, it was an excellent homage to the film.

Robert Heinlen

In reply to A lot of the ideas from Neuromancer have been

Stranger in a strange land ( shame John Houston passed away as he would have made a great Jubal Harshaw ), Time enough for love or I will fear no evil or Arthur C Clarke’s Rendezvous with Rama

D.

Rendezvous with rama

In reply to Robert Heinlen

would be old hat to hollywood, sequel might be a goer.
Time enough for love, loo long.
I will fear no evil, I’d love to see middle america deal with that, they’d burn you at the stake unchanged. As they would for stranger in a strange land, that one you’d have the muslims after you as well.

Too right!

In reply to Rendezvous with rama

Heinlein always was ahead of his times.

I’d like to see some Pratchett

In reply to What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

But done properly with the sort of budget and the quality of stars that has been used for, say, Harry Potter.

The Hogfather is on Sky later this month. This is a two-parter with Ian Richardson and David Jason as Death and Albert respectively. I’ll be interested to see how well they do…

Neil 😀

Dragon’s Dawn would be good to do but I’d have a real worry about them getting ‘Mote’ right – or Ringworld!!

RingWorld.

In reply to I’d like to see some Pratchett

They would make a pigs ear of that.

Legacy Of Heorot, now that might work.

Maybe some Heinlein

In reply to What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

Rocketship Galileo or The Moon is a Harsh Mistress could probably be easily adapted to film given today’s technology.

I’ve noticed that action books tend to make the best adaptation and the director can make a difference also. Stanley Kubrick, for examnple, did an outstanding job with “The Shining.”

Caveat: I saw the movie before I read the book, which may have affected my opinion.

How about one of his best books

In reply to Maybe some Heinlein

Starship Troopers 🙁

Communicating the concept of Tanstaafl to a wide audience would be good though wouldn’t it.

I can think of a lot of books I’d like to see visualised, but which ones would work well enough to be worth the effort.

They already did Starship Troopers

In reply to How about one of his best books

And mangled it badly. And I can’t speak for your side of the pond, but I know that most people on this side would dismiss Tanstaafl as an unhealthy concept.

it was done

In reply to How about one of his best books

it’s wasn’t badly done, but the story was only half there.

the romance in the story was completely changed in the movie.

the battle suits were different.
they never got the really neat suits at all.

That was why the sad face

In reply to How about one of his best books

They almost completely missed the real bit of SF, that you have to earn your vote with service.

As for tansaafl, politicians consider it unhealthy

Good and bad

In reply to How about one of his best books

Starship Troopers (the movie) was a good bang-bang-shoot-em-up. It was NOT Starship Troopers (the book), and should have had a different name.

Stick one right up the Christian Right

In reply to Maybe some Heinlein

Job: A Comedy of Justice

My favorite Heinlen book, and not a rocketship in sight.

Who would play the protagonist???

It’s a toss up between Mel Gibson and Tom Cruise.

Neither

In reply to Stick one right up the Christian Right

This one calls for the guy next door. Bill Pullman maybe, or Kevin Costner. Brigitte Nielsen for the female lead.

Unfortunately, I don’t think this one will ever see the silver screen. The content is just too radical, even for Hollywood. Stranger in a Strange Land has a better chance.

[i]Stranger in a Strange Land[/i] would be an excellent choice.

In reply to Neither

One has to wonder why it’s not already been done. Perhaps it’s that the demographics are not viewed as being sufficiently favorable for it becoming a “blockbuster” as they once might have been, given the long running obsession with “action” films.

On the other hand, considering that it was a cult classic of the ’60s, and given the present purchasing power of the generation that would be most inclined to view it, now might in fact be it’s time.

Stanger would be good – if done right

In reply to [i]Stranger in a Strange Land[/i] would be an excellent choice.

I agree… that is a true classic that seems to have been overlooked. However if they mangled it like Starship Troopers,. I would rather not seem the do it at all.

The urge to introduce more “action” would probably hold great sway.

In reply to Stanger would be good – if done right

What ever happened to the thinking man’s movie?

Why are the producers so convinced that the path to success requires an appeal to [i]their perceived[/i] needs of men for “action,” or to that of women for “empathy?”

I shudder at the thought of what a Hollywood version of Herman Hesse’s [i]Das Glasperlenspiel[/i], aka [i]The Glass Bead Game[/i] or [i]Magister Ludi[/i] would look like.

On the subject of Heinlein

In reply to Neither

Why not Methusela’s Children? Woodrow Wilson Smith – aka Lazaras Long would be a great character and the show could lead to lots of follow-ups. These days, you could do up one of his famous short stories and develope a great screenplay. Something like Misfits or Lifeline for instance?

Heinlein’s Other Masterpieces

In reply to On the subject of Heinlein

Have Space Suit, Will Travel or The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.

Ignore; mis-placed in thread.

In reply to Heinlein’s Other Masterpieces

■

So – alternate view of bible = bad; cannibilism = good

In reply to Stick one right up the Christian Right

I have GOT to get me to one of your parties, Deepsand.

Stranger in a strange land

In reply to Stick one right up the Christian Right

Religious Fundamentalists of all types would be burning cinemas 😀

As for a comedy of justsice, the devil is nice guy with bad PR people, that will go down well.
I recommend Max Clifford for the part of Lucifer.
😀

Lucifer

In reply to Stranger in a strange land

I’m not familiar with Max Clifford, but I hope you’re thinking that the role of Lucifer would call for a “Hail fellow, well met” type of performance.

He’s a PR guru

In reply to Lucifer

you go to him when you have a problem in that regard and your story is worth money to him.

Citizen of the Galaxy

In reply to Maybe some Heinlein

One of the best of Heinlein’s short novels, Citizen of the Galaxy is the one I would most like to see come to the silver screen.

Other Nominations:
If This Goes On– (later retitled Revolt in 2100)
Farnham’s Freehold
Methuselah’s Children
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress
Tunnel in the Sky
Waldo
Magic, Inc.

– Jeff

Actually there’s one close to Rocketship Galileo

In reply to Maybe some Heinlein

due out soon. Called The Astronaut Farmer. Not an Earth to Moon voyage, just some farmer with a dream of going into space putting together a rocket out of spare NASA & defense industry surplus and fighting the government suits who don’t want him to try (or succeed).

Rocketship Galileo is a possibility with today’s technology. Unfortunately, in today’s anti-terrorist climate, the possibility of a private citizen getting that much material for propulsion is, well, farther than 4.3 light years. And I’m not sure if they ever solved nozzle erosion or the fuel fracturing problems before they killed the nuclear rocket program.

You think its fiction?

In reply to Actually there’s one close to Rocketship Galileo

There is a guy in New Zealand who built a cruise missile out of over the counter bits and scrap metal. It uses a pulse jet engine so it isnt too stealthy but with the GPS kit and servos from industrial robots it is accurate (he tried it) the gov tried to shut his website down. Now thats what I call a story. ANyway noone has mentioned E.E.Doc Smith. Triplanetary . The Lensman. Lots of good space opera there..

Lensman.. has been mentioned

In reply to You think its fiction?

too dated in my opinion. There are far better space operas anyway.
Stephen Donaldson’s gap series springs to mind.

Do you think a the heroic couple would make it to the big screen unamended?

Doorway into Summer

In reply to Maybe some Heinlein

If any of you are electronic engineers then this has to be one of the all time notables. It has robotics engineering, conflict and romance rolled into a memorable time travel story. Heinlein was my intro to sci-fi in the sixties. Whenever I need a lift this is the quick picker-upper.

The only sci-fi story to yield an Oscar for Best Actor, …

In reply to What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

[i]Flowers for Algernon,[/i] made the trnasition from short story to the big screen, as [i]Charlie[/i], exceedingly well, succeeding in raising the same emotional response in both.

However, the novel [i]Charlie[/i], that resulted from the movie, was an unmitigated disaster.

I’d love to see Asimov’s Foundation series

In reply to What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

Also you can’t beat Good Omens, but I’m pretty sure the religious right in the US would freak out and start burning down theaters.

Yes, plus …

In reply to I’d love to see Asimov’s Foundation series

… encouraging nerdy mathematicians to think that they one day may rule the known universe …

Is this truly a worthwhile outcome?

But of course a proper nerdy mathematician would point out the impossibility of ever actually knowing the universe, and do themselves out of a pretty comfy pension scheme at the same time.

We have nothing to fear.

Except I thought Asimov raved on a bit. The first few Foundation novels were brilliant but after a while, I think he rode that pony just a few miles too far – I truly expected “Foundation and the Local Off-License” (which come to think of it is not necessarily a bad idea).

More from Asimov

In reply to Yes, plus …

I’ve always been partial to the robot novels and would love to see them on the big screen. A start with The Caves of Steel – but my all-time favorite would be Robots of Dawn.
On the subject of the Foundation series, wouldn’t the final book Forward the Foundation be a great movie?

Asamov, yes

In reply to I’d love to see Asimov’s Foundation series

Although I’d like to see The Foundation, I think it might not translate to the screen as well as some of the pre-foundation books, such a Caves of Steel.

Unless of course they stretched it out over about 12 movies.

Well, yes; but, …

In reply to I’d love to see Asimov’s Foundation series

How to end it? Where to end it?

If you are faithful to the books, you’ll get a long, bloated pic with an ending that offers neither resolution nor even a clear choice of such.

Foundation COULD be great

In reply to I’d love to see Asimov’s Foundation series

I would love to see this as well. They could do it great, or it could suck hugely.

But, as I’ve mentioned above, …

In reply to Foundation COULD be great

how to end it?

The books dragged on and on, with no closure.

No closure

In reply to But, as I’ve mentioned above, …

That reminded me of my favourite quote in a BBC review of the film Fellowship of the Ring.

Disappointing lack of closure oh and the female characters were insipid.

Pity he didn’t read the book, and I can’t imagine what this pratt would have done to LOTR to fix these problems.

Better as a mini-series!

In reply to I’d love to see Asimov’s Foundation series

HUGE depth here.. gotta take time to present it right.

And, only if you don’t try to cover all the books.

In reply to Better as a mini-series!

If you do that, you’ll be bogged down in contrived endings to complete the many unfinished plot lines that the books left hanging.

Better, perhaps, to restrict such series to the 1st book alone.

Foundation Rumor

In reply to I’d love to see Asimov’s Foundation series

There is a rumor floating around about the Foundation movie in 2008. I can say that it’s true because I still have a cutout from the New York Daily News about the summer of 1984.

The summer of 1984 was to be the Foundation Trilogy Summer with one movie in June, the second in July and the third in August. Alas, the summer that never was.

The best that has been done

In reply to What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

has to be Episode IV
STAR WARS

I read the book before the movie was made, and the movie was not a disappointment at all.

well done George Lucas, book author, producer and screenwriter, no wonder it worked well.

Not a Star Wars fan, myself

In reply to The best that has been done

Lucas’s best film THX1138.

Besides writing the book with the film in mind is cheating. 😀

Dune….

In reply to What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

Not sure if you have seen the more recent miniseries, but it makes you never want to watch the movie again. I’ve watched it end to end twice and there was a follow on with the same cast of the Children of Dune.

You may scoff at Harry Potter, but I find the books entertaining and the films have been very faithful.

I’d like to see a war of the worlds based on the HG Wells book – set in that time period. I want to see the battle between the royal navy and the martians done well.

I watched a trailer the other day and thought I was going to see an Ann McCaffrey title, but alas, it only looked like a Dragonrider movie. Its called Aragon.

James

Wouldn’t say I scoff at Harry Potter

In reply to Dune….

just doesn’t do anything for me.

I’ve seen a couple of the dune mini-series and they were much better than the film, it would be hard not to be though.

Battles though, How about Steven Erikson’s Chain of Dogs from Deadhouse Gates ?

Druss the Legend and the Earl Of Bronze at Dros Delnoch.

Or Michael vs Thuktun Flishithy 😀 to get back to Sci-Fi.

adventures on pern

In reply to Dune….

tell me you didn’t cry when Masterharper Robinton died? :_|

Nah.

In reply to adventures on pern

Only when he [b]nearly[/b] died and the dragons brought him back.

Pern just isn’t the same

In reply to adventures on pern

without Robinton. And I teared up many times while reading the Pern books. For whatever reason, Anne McCaffrey’s work is able to reach out and grab me.

BTW, have you read any of the newer books written by Todd McCaffrey? I was greatly impressed with “Dragon’s Blood.”

nothing newer

In reply to Pern just isn’t the same

I used to read to my boys every night, and that ended at the end of school last year.

The Harry Potter and Diablo books kind of took the place of the dragonrider series.

They used to also get a kick out of the animorph series, but I think they outgrew that too.

I scoff at Harry Potter

In reply to Dune….

The first 2 movies were true to the books. Since then pure trash Hollywood rewites the story to it’s onw needs totally screwing the story line

Tsk Tsk Tsk

In reply to What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

I just wanted you to know that I was going to get around to this on my blog…

Now you are gonna make me have to think of a whole new one to write! 🙂

Well it was reading your blog that made me think of it

In reply to Tsk Tsk Tsk

so you can have some of the credit.
😀

Any Brin, anyone?

In reply to What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

I think Startide Rising etc. would convert well … David and Goliath theme, plenty of action, plenty of thoughtful implications of science …

Uplift

In reply to Any Brin, anyone?

Why not the entire trilogy: Sundiver, Startide Rising and The Uplift War? Anyone have Peter Jackson’s e-mail address?

Robert Heinlein

In reply to What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

I submit that “The Number of the Beast” could translate VERY well to film!

Go Zeb and Deety!

No “Number”

In reply to Robert Heinlein

It would never work. Besides seriously dumbing down the dialogue, you would have to find an actress (for Deety) who is, converting from the metric, 5’7″ tall, 130 pounds, with a 37″ bust and a 19″ waist. In short, you need Pamela Anderson in a girdle, and she’d never be able to pull off playing a software engineer.

Canticle for Leibowitz – Walter Miller

In reply to No “Number”

As post-apocalyptic visions go, fairly interesting. The world recovers and then does it all over again!

May be, but I didn’t think much of the book

In reply to Robert Heinlein

when an author starts dragging characters out of his other books, they have officially lost it.

Friday would be better.

Fiasco by Stanislaw Lem

In reply to What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

“Fiasco” by Stanislaw Lem is an amazing treasury of ideas and predictions on science and humanity. Most of his predictions came true and, no one liked them – even the author (it would be right to say that he wrote some of them with disgust). I have never met another example of a timid hope and love to human beings before. May be, Mel Gibson is the best actor to play the part of Lem’s Pilot Pirks. Tell him, please… And remind him – the author is a Polish Jew.

Possibly extending the idea (logically)… [long]

In reply to What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

Some very good ideas, and choices, imvho.

Important to recognize what ‘makes’ for a good (and, also important, profitable) film, just as what makes for an effective SF franchise. I’m surprised no one’s commented on WHY Hellburner, rather than something like, say, Downbelow Station, or Rimrunners, or Heavy Time, was the choice for Cherryh.

I would sweat a great deal, and probably never stop sweating, at what might happen to Honor in the hands of filmmakers (no pun intended…) — even though if you want a long-term, progressive SF franchise with a strong and complex female lead, that would be on the short list. Not least because being ‘attractive’ is a point Weber himself is at some pains to deprecate… ;-}

But much of the choosing leads into another point, which I think is critical to the success or failure of many of these projects: length and market.

deepsand noted (with respect to Foundation, I believe):

> How to end it? Where to end it?

> If you are faithful to the books, you’ll >get a long, bloated pic with an ending that >offers neither resolution nor even a clear >choice of such.

Assuming you tried to make a typical feature movie out of the whole ‘extended trilogy’, which imho is what doomed DeLaurentiis’ version of Dune before it started. By the time you establish the rules of engagement for verisimilitude in future history, how many minutes have gone down the pipe? And doing it right clearly requires more than a few mattes and a pretentious voiceover

Seems to me we have at least four basic formats, and at least two ‘extended models’, for ‘video’ SF formats:

1) Feature film: 140min. practical length, can be extended to about 240min for VERY profitable niches…

2) Feature film with sequels/prequels a la Star Wars… but remember the harsh lesson of Bakshi’s Lord of the Rings, and that the ‘typical’ ways that sequels can suck will have to be carefully, carefully avoided (I am NOT intending something like “Hard Landings Will Not Hereafter Be Permitted” here, either…

3) Miniseries (usually up to three nights, somewhere in 2-hr running time with or without inline commercials depending on media, but can be a BIT longer). Point is that it’s a longer format BUT fixed duration;

4) Full series – probably 1hr for adaptations, although I have done extensive treatments for half-hour short-story adaptations (Galouye and Niven being sample authors, and the pieces chosen so that the film can carefully reflect the authors’ points and intent, which I think is important). You have a choice between making the episodes separate (a la Outer Limits), separate with a general common theme (Twilight Zone or, a bit stronger, something like the Friday the 13th Series, which had about as much to do with Jason as Halloween III had to do with Michael), a common theme with different ‘adventures’ each week (Star Trek, of course, or with a different emphasis Time Tunnel/Quantum Leap), or in typical series form containing ongoing and evolving plots, themes, character development, etc. (the ‘new’ Battlestar Galactica, and Firefly, being two examples)

Note that there are internal timing and dynamics issues for film, particularly television film, that are more akin to Stratemeyer-Syndicate literature (and I’m NOT knockin’ it!!!) than typical SF — some of which, like the need to impress ‘readers’ when pitching a project, or enticing the audience across commercial or time breaks, can be easily gained from texts on film composition. More importantly, a ‘good’ film will appeal to multiple quadrants, while still satisfying enough ‘core’ to guarantee repeat attendance and establishment of the ‘franchise’.

I mention this because it might enhance the discussion to have some explicit taxonomy of KINDS of SF adaptation, and the titles and authors best suited to each. To prime the pump, as it were:

Hellburner is an excellent candidate for a movie — but with a full set of hooks and references to the extended and very rich future history that can be used for the ‘franchise’… if made alone, especially by ‘typical’ Hollywood types out to play up the “military-industrial-conspiracy” aspects of the story, I worry that it might suffer the fate of the script that became “Spacehunter” (1983) — if you know where to look in the movie you find some extremely good tech details, like the orbital-insertion graphics, or what Chalmers’ first name is, but by and large, Who Cared…

MULTIPLE FILM or MINISERIES: The Mote in God’s Eye, or any single part of the Ringworld (instructive why it, and not the Smoke Ring, is a better ‘vehicle’ for film…) You can’t do justice to it in one sitting, BUT a book treatment would have a very fixed duration and a reasonably firm conclusion… the ‘extension’ of the story having all sorts of reasonable format possibilities, including not coincidentally King David’s Spaceship…

Honor, I think, would be a movie AND a roughly concomitant follow-on series; you might do ‘later’ stories as miniseries (or as ‘extended episodes’) and use the extra time to explore the contrasting elements and contradictions in more depth or detail, but doing that for ESTABLISHMENT of the franchise would I think be too much like Russian roulette… ;-}

I picked Hellburner

In reply to Possibly extending the idea (logically)… [long]

It’s self contained, strong but fairly simply characters, a good finale. Hollywooding by making that final attack go through on a union ship, wouldn’t damage the story too much. Visually it offers a lot of material, and as you say, you’ve chance at some real background.

Heavy Time, which in my opinion is a much better book, becomes a possibility, giving us the chance to stick it to Mam-Bitch. 😀

Downbelow station with the Lucas Treatment, dunno.
40,000 in Gehenna, forget it, Cyteen forget it. Fade Sun Trilogy, no chance whatsoever.

The kiddie books Finity’s End, Tripoint etc have possibilities.

Foreigner Sequence, in my dreams.

Any one who get the impression I like CJ Cherry’s material, is on the ball 😀

Honorverse, they could have a field day with, I’d love to see various members appreciation of a logical end point for the welfare state in the Republic Of Haven as well.

A couple of one offs that would make good films.

Mary Gentle’s Golden Witchbreed and Walter Jon Williams’ Ambassador’s Progress.

If you want all the good points of a hollywood blockbuster, and a chance at sequels how about John Ringo’s A Hymn before Battle?

What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

In reply to What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

I think Jurassic Park should be amonst the list

Sci-fi book I want to see as a movie

In reply to What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

* The Cross-Time Engineer series (Frankowski)
* Time Wars series (Hawke)
* Callahan’s Cross-Time Saloon series (Robinson)
* The Forever War (Haldeman)
* All My Sins Remembered (Haldeman) aka “The Pretender” TV show
* Alas Babylon
* Thrice Upon a Time
* When Harlie Was One
*

Book vs. Movie

In reply to Sci-fi book I want to see as a movie

Good books, bad movie
Starship Trooper
The Postman (Costner)

Good book, better movie
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? aka Blade Runner.
Robocop

Split decision
The Abyss – 5* except for final 10 mins
Logan’s Run- OK for it’s time

Sci-fi TV series
Lexx
Farscape

Callahan’s Cross-Time Saloon

In reply to Sci-fi book I want to see as a movie

Almost anything from Spider Robinson would probably make a great movie. But Hollywood would see a need to “dumb it down” before it could achieve commercial success.

I must confess I don’t really think of that as sci-fi

In reply to What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

It was damn good film though, the first time I saw the herd of cgi dinosaurs a shiver went down my spine.

Good spot

What about something from EE Doc Smith?

In reply to What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

The Lensman series has a lot of the elements needed to make a successful translation into film, but I had more real fun reading the Skylark series.

Story wise Lensman would be Ok

In reply to What about something from EE Doc Smith?

Science wise, afraid not most of it was based on the idea of the ether. A known fallacy when they were written.

Dan Simmons

In reply to What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

The first two books of the Hyperion tetralogy would make a stunning long, long movie – if financed generously.
Will never happen, unfortunately.

Sci-fi Book/movie cross-over. . .

In reply to What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

“The Stainless Steel Rat” comes to mind. This series of books, were successfully transferred to comic print in earlier series of the British comic 2000A.D. I enjoyed the novel versions, which in my minds imagination, really made it come to life.

Slippery Jim DiGreez (sp?) was the best!

In reply to Sci-fi Book/movie cross-over. . .

I haven’t thought of that series in ages, but you’re right: it’d make a great movie!

Another series of books that I think would make a great series of movies is the “Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter” novels. Don’t know if we’d all agree on calling them SF, though.

What as a porno ?

In reply to Slippery Jim DiGreez (sp?) was the best!

I enjoyed the earlier ones, but it’s just turned into goth porno books.

Kim Harrison or Kelly Armstrong would be a better choice.

The Stars My Destination would make a great SF movie.

In reply to What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

“The Stars My Destination” (British title was “Tiger, Tiger”) by Alfred Bester, published in the mid ’50s, would be my choice for best book to film transfer. This novel has everything–a hero who goes from ignorant brute to a savior who brings us to the brink of the next step in human evolution, fantastic action in exotic settings from “The Spanish Steps” to interstellar locations, and some really strange characters that could make the hippest or the most decadent of today seem hum-drum by comparison.
Gully Foyle, lowly and ignorant deck hand on a space freighter and only survivor of ship wreck, signals for help to a passing ship but is left to perish. He vows revenge on those who abandoned him (“Kill you filthy Vorga”). Without understanding how, he finally teleports himself to a colony of neo-primitives living among the asteroids where he is tatooed with a tiger’s face and the name Nomad on his forehead. Eventually, after desperate struggles, he educates himself, discovers why he was left to die in space, overcomes the richest man in the solar system,learns how to control his power to teleport(called “jaunting” in the novel), and too much else to summarize.
The novel is essentially hung on the Count of Monte Cristo revenge type of story but transcends its model. The action is conceived in a truly cinematic fashion, and the dialogue is colorful and varied.
Why no one has made it into a block buster movie is a mystery to me. Maybe someone the right connections could pitch it to the attention of the right director … Peter Jackson or James Cameron maybe.

Harry Harrison’s

In reply to What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

“Hellworld” Trilogy
it would convert nicely to movie format.
Not a major FX vehicle, since they are more character development based.
but creature FX would be big.

Then again, David Drake’s Hammer Slammers could work, but would most likely be butchered by hollywood.

Hellworld?

In reply to Harry Harrison’s

I thought it was Deathworld, a trilogy and a short story all revolving around a character named Jason.

Yeah!

In reply to What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

Any or all of the Honor novels. I have them all, and am about to get my daughter started in them. I love the ‘cats.

Orson-Scott Card

In reply to Yeah!

Ender’s Game, anyone?
Bit of a psychological thriller with some excellent special effects opportunities

Plenty of opportunities for sequels / prequels / spin offs, which could then be happily mangled….

That’s in the works as we speak!

In reply to Orson-Scott Card

See
http://www.frescopictures.com/movies/ender/endersgame_update.html and
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0400403/ .

If you do a Google search for “ender’s game” AND “movie” you’ll find a good number of hits.

Whether or not they make the 2008 release date remains to be seen.

How about Frederik Pohl’s …

In reply to What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

[i]The Coming of the Quantum Cats[/i]?

In today’s geo-political climate, it would lend itself exceedingly well to timely adaptation, with no need to alter the plot line.

I wander, isn’t “Cities in Flight” by James Blish great?

In reply to What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

I agree with most of you but must say that my favourite SF classic series is James Blishes “Cities in Flight”. Some of its ideas I’ve seen used in the Star Wars series (rogue planets etc.). As for Heinlein, I think he is fantastic and I can not understand how come Hollywood guys had not used his books already. Hollywood version of “Starship Troopers” has not any connection with Heinlein but the title. It is, in my opinion, a mixture of Harry Harryson’s “Bill, the Galactic Hero” and some excerpts from a few Clifford Simak’s novels.
Asimov should have been on the screen long before and instead of the Star Wars.
Artur Clarke’s “Space Odissey” still has to be upgraded by two more sequels.
Stanislaw Lem is great for reading but I wander how it can be filmed and understood? I did not like any filmed version of his “Solaris”.

Here’s a Few

In reply to I wander, isn’t “Cities in Flight” by James Blish great?

“A Deepness in the Sky” and/or “A Fire Upon the Deep”– Vernor Vinge The former is, IMHO, the single best SF novel written in the past decade.

Anything by Charles Stross, but especially the
“Bob Howard” stories.

The “Fall Revolution” Quartet– Ken MacLeod

“Footfall”– Niven & Pournelle (But they have to use the cadenza and final movement of the Shostakovich first violin concerto for the flight of “Michael”. Listen to the piece and you’ll know why. )

“Inherit the Stars”– James Hogan Yeah, I know the science is dodgy and even so, they’d have to dumb it way down. (Use Berlioz’s “Rakoczy March” for Vic Hunt’s reverie.)

“Midnight at the Well of Souls”– Jack Chalker (Use “Night on Bald Mountain” for the flight across Murithel.)

“The Probability Broach”– L. Neil Smith

“The Invincible”– Stanislaw Lem

“The Moon is a Harsh Mistress” is the Heinlein story I’d most like to see adapted.

“Old Man’s War” John Scalzi

“Startide Rising”– David Brin (yes I know it’s already been mentioned.) There was supposedly an anime feature in production a few years back.

“Rendezvous with Rama” there are persistent rumors of a production with Morgan Freeman involved (producing and playing Cdr. Norton)

Standing on Zanzibar – the best

In reply to What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

How about John Brunner’s books ? He was a visionary and wrote about our present time way back in the 60’s and 70’s!
Stand on Zanzibar (about over-population)
The Sheep Look Up (about pollution)
Shockwave Rider (about an IT revolutionary)

I would LOVE to see his books in movies!

Hopefully Eragon

In reply to What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

I’m seeing Eragon Friday afternoon, and since I loved the book so much, I hope that they were able to do a good rendition. On the one hand, they can’t be too faithful, or you get a situation like the first Harry Potter movie. However, I want them to follow the story. I do know that they had to change Saphira’s color from Sapphire blue to a more dull blue. I was disappointed when I saw this in the trailer until I read a post that explained that she looked like a cartoon character until they dulled the color. Stuff like that would be quite acceptable. I’m crossing my fingers.

But, you don’t really consider that [i]SF[/i] do you?

In reply to Hopefully Eragon

While it may be good [i]Fantasy[/i], it’s certainly not [i]Science Fiction.[/i]

Colossus and anyhting Niven-ish

In reply to What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

The film adaptation of Colossus (named Colossus: The Forbin Project) was a decent adaptation, in a corny seventies sort of way.

Almost anything by Niven SHOULD make a great film. Ringworld (the rishathra would be interesting) or any Man-Kzin war related material.

Also, Startide by David Brinn would be terrific if done right.

Mutineers’ Moon

In reply to What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

It’s by David Weber. It has got a little bit of everything in it. But then again we do find out that the moon is really a battleship. But then Hollywood would ruin it also, like they have so many great books in the past.

Brian Lumly

In reply to What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

He has a series called Psychomech, Psychomock, Psychosphere. Deal with Industrialists who are /were Natzi scientists. Great story lines genuine hero. Blinded by explosion helped by the industrialist he was protecting. Machine enhanced esp by conquring fears in dreams one becomes superhuman (read SS) interesting reading TDR Fantasy. Or his take on vampires is different as well with the Wamphirii series.

Way Station

In reply to What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

Clifford Simak’s “The Way Station” which won the Hugo in 1963 for best novel would make a really good movie. The story revolves around a human, Enoch Wallace, who is the secret local stationmaster for an intergalactic transportation system. Unfortunately Wallace come under scrutiny of the government when they realize that he is a civil war veteran and that one of the graves in his family cemetery contains the remains of something not of this Earth.

I Know What I Wish Never Came Out

In reply to What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

….Hitchhikers.

The movie just didnt do it any justice whatsoever!

The old TV series was so much better and the only actor they got right in the movie was the voice of Marvin.
This time 2 or 3 years ago my answer would of been the whole hitchhikers series. But now… well I dont want them to be ruined by being released as movies.

Somewhere, in a galaxy, whoops, in a TR discussion far, far away, …

In reply to I Know What I Wish Never Came Out

the whole [i]Hitchhikers …[/i], the movie, was given its just desserts in spades. I’d point you to it, if I could, but the TR Searcg function is wholly inadequate for locating such; and, even if it could be found, there’s no garuantee that the links to it are still active.

Now, old TR Discussions just fade away, never to be seen again.

Raymond E Feist

In reply to What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

The riftwar saga would do well, especially if Peter Jackson got hold of it.

Well Magician would be excellent

In reply to Raymond E Feist

Silverthorn would be disappointing and Darkness at Sethanon utter crap, based on past performance.

David Eddings

In reply to Raymond E Feist

His Elenium series might transfer well to the big screen. Simplistic or formulaic as it may be, that often seems to make good cinema.

Practically designed for it

In reply to David Eddings

Vastly overrated though, I wouldn’t watch it if you paid me.

Now Donaldson’s chronicles of Thomas Covenant, or Mordant’s need, or for a total CGI extravaganza, Erikson’s Malazan Tales of the Fallen, then you’d be talking something worth the effort.

Eddings stuff makes Rowling look adult. Good always triumphs, innocence is power and all ‘bad’ guys are stupid.
Bleh !

It’s a great world view

In reply to Practically designed for it

if those around you can stand it.

Thomas Covenant. Hmm. It could be good, but I doubt Hollywood would let it; all that angst wouldn’t play well at the box office. I wouldn’t expect blockbuster status, but it would definitely become a cult classic.

What would hollywood

In reply to It’s a great world view

do with the idea that only guilt is effective for good?
That’s the difference between Eddings and Donaldson, one of them has something worth saying, the sheer brilliance of the way he illustrates it is an added bonus.

How would you do Revelstone, Lord Mhoram’s victory, Drool Rockworm’s corrupt malice anyway.

Mordant’s Need would be easier.

As for the Gap, Angus Thermopyle goes hollywood, it would be awful wouldn’t it.

Worse than Barney!

In reply to What would hollywood

I love you, you love me!

Gack! Harcgk! Gag!

oh douglas adams

In reply to What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

the complete Hitchhikers guide to the galaxt series was absolutely brilliant, yet the movie was a horrible adaptation

what about…

In reply to oh douglas adams

Nobody mentioned John Varley… Titan, Demon or how about the Barbie Murders…

or or or Steve Perry’s Matadora Trilogy , or what about Piers Anthony and the Orn stuff or Battle Circle ??

Also as a tadpole I recall Clifford D. Simack had some great stuff like the Goblin Reservation. Also what was the one by Simack with the end of the world, the talking dogs and the robots ?? something like “City” ??

Did someone say, A Canticle for Leibowitz?

In reply to What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

The sci-fi novel A Canticle for Leibowitz is absolutely timeless, and this is evident considering the book has NEVER been out of print since it was published almost 50 years ago.

The story itself has a wholeness which incorporates a major world religion (old Catholicism), trying to pick up the burnt-out pieces (books, artifacts) after present civilization destroys itself with nuclear weapons. There is plenty of Latin, arcane but somehow understandable, the rumblings of truth and hilarious dogma), juxtaposed with human power struggles, both selfish and pure, scientific and heretical, on very individual levels.

The drama or this novel is so intense, the situations so bizarre and personal, the whole thing could just as easily be written as a Broadway musical, if the right creative artists were inspired to do it.

Leaving all that Broadway stuff aside, it seems certain this project would become a once-in-a-decade smash as a satirical, futuristic, and dramatic film, done by a great director, writer, magnificent special effects people, and a PARADE of great actors playing a myriad of juicy, in-your-face roles offered throughout the story.

For example, I see Whoopi Goldberg as Mrs. Grales, the two-headed mutant woman of great faith, one head always asleep, but alive and whispering things, the other head in charge, trying to get the sleepy head baptized. That’s at the end of the novel when the world blows up again, and the sleepy head comes to life and walks around after the living head of Mrs. Grales is killed. The new living head, named Rachel, won’t even let a dying priest baptize her. Perhaps she is immaculate. How dramatic and mind-popping is that?

It’s my prediction that A Canticle for Leibowitz will someday make an outrageous splash as a film and maybe even a musical. It’s just that rich. I’m surprised there has not been more interest in making it happen.

If anyone could compose a musical score for it, I’m thinking it’s Rufus Wainwright. His music has the educated cynicism and formal understanding of his native Catholicism, and his boundless immagination can produce wonders of arch musical phrasing. Rufus Wainwright (also an actor/singer as well as composer) would be well-suited to the role of the priggish Thon Taddeo in the middle part of the story, a man just re-discovering electricity and the lightbulb and demading respect for bringing lowly mankind out of the dark.

Excellent choice.

In reply to Did someone say, A Canticle for Leibowitz?

I’m surprised that of the rest of us here remembered such; perhaps that’s a result of having read so much, over so many years, that one reaches the point where the trees fade into a forest.

As for Rufus, are you familiar with his father, Loudon Wainwright III? I think it possible that he might be an even better choice than his son.

Maybe I’m too cynical…

In reply to What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

It seems that now producers have to “add” to a great book, so I don’t see any doing real well. The only standout I remember is the Andromeda Stain. Book to movie the lead changed gender, and curare tiped darts changed to lasers (really dumb change as then the lasers had to make them dizzy). But otherwise it was extremely faithful to the book.

best book to film sci-fi

In reply to What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

Won’t mind seeing an up to date ‘Day of the triffids’, the last War of the Worlds was a major dissapointment.
Hunters of the Red Moon by Marian Zimmer Bradley would be a good sci/fi action.

stranger in a strange land.

In reply to What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

heinlen’s great work ignored again! if you haven’t read it, please do. it will change your outlook on life, forever!

Ignored, no discounted yes

In reply to stranger in a strange land.

Icky sentamentalist pap in my opinion, like most of his later stuff.

Starship Troopers done properly, or better yet the Moon is a Harsh Mistress, now those I’d pay to watch if there was someone brave enough to do them.

Rendevous With Rama

In reply to What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

I would love to see this as a film. I always thought that it should be one. Another topic
that would make a good film is the “space elevator” concept. Several authors have written about this.

Regards,

73
-Grace
NNNN
z

It was a decent book, sequels spoiled it for me

In reply to Rendevous With Rama

Not sure Hollywood could take the lack of explanation either. To me space elevator and even visits from aliens are scenery. The interesting bits for me, are things like waht impact a cheap way into space or knowing that we aren’t alone would have on society. That sort of thing is hard to get over on film, which is why Hollywood misses most of what’s good about sci-fi.

Logan’s Run by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson

In reply to What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

I know, really old film…but it was one of the first sci fi movies I watched as a kid. I would likely consider it to be the movie that started the interest for me in sci-fi. I read books by Stephen King whose movies always intrigue me (note: Stephen almost always plays some sort of minor roll in most of his movies). Then there was A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle; I think after her book, I was completely hooked on sci-fi.

Aside from seeing Jenny topless

In reply to Logan’s Run by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson

I thought the movie was crap. The most interesting thing was, not one person of colour in the film, as though they had no part in the future…..

Pretty sure the book came after the film on that one as well.

RE: Logan’s Run book release

In reply to Aside from seeing Jenny topless

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logan’s_Run the book was first…

Hmm the book sounds better than the flim

In reply to RE: Logan’s Run book release

Might give it a go.

The Stand

In reply to What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

I think they did a pretty decent job with ‘The Stand’. It follows the book for the most part and may be long, but at least it held my interest throughout the whole thing.

It was decent, don’t think I’d seen it

In reply to The Stand

when I did the original post.
Must confess it’s another I don’t see as sci-fi, because of King’s horror background, it fits the genre though so may be I’m being a snob. :p

Books to film…

In reply to What’s the best book to film sci-fi (or SF) transition and..

Orson Scott Cards “Enders Game” could be a great movie if done right, along with many of the series.

Ben Bova’s “Grand Tour” series.

Vernor Vinge’s “A Fire Upon The Deep” was a great book, but I don’t know that it could be translated onto film.

Brin’s “Earth” would translate well.

Bear’s “Darwins Radio” and sequel “Darwins Children”.

[Author]

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